


Together, or Not At All

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, M/M, Parkour AU, description of injury, save these fucking dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6115978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuu is injured while doing parkour with Yuu, and newly recruited Shouyou<br/>It rocks the steady foundation of friendship he and Yuu have built, reshaping it into the potential of becoming something else entirely</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together, or Not At All

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't slept all night and i'm so fucking tired of this thing here you go have it all the ending is rushed as shit but there you go  
> hope you enjoy

It all starts just a few weeks after Noya and Asahi have returned to club activities. More specifically, it starts when Noya comes up to Tanaka and says,  
«Dude you were so right, I totally see it.» At which point Tanaka smiles, and replies  
«I know!»  
If you really wanna get down to the root of things it started when Tanaka had told Noya about Hinata. He’d watched Hinata and Kageyama practice every morning leading up to the practice match, he’d watched the way Hinata would jump and bounce all over the place, how fast he was, how fast he could change directions while running. He saw how much control Hinata has over his body. And he was instantly convinced that Hinata should join them.

They decide to broach the subject during lunch one sunny Tuesday. They stand in the doorway of Hinatas classroom almost too soon after the bell has rung. Appearing like bad omens, harbingers of chaos and destruction trough ridiculous antics.  
«Hey Hinata!» Tanaka yells, and draws the attention of basically every student in the classroom. He knows that the image he and Noya make isn’t the friendliest at times. They can be a bit intimidating to younger students with their hairstyles and loud attitudes. The slight tension breaks, however, as soon as Hinata spots them.  
«Tanaka-senpai! Noya-senpai! Heyyyyy!» And he’s bouncing across the classroom, bright smile on his face and lunch in his hands.  
«Wanna eat lunch outside with us?» Noya asks.  
«Yeah! I’ll go get Kageyama!» But before he gets the chance to rush off Tanaka lays a hand on his shoulder.  
«We actually wanted to talk to you about something.»   
Hinata looks like a giant question mark as they walk him outside.   
Once seated outside in the sun, Hinatas features still scrunched up in an unbelievable mix of horror and curiosity that only he could be capable of. The first thing Noya does is laugh in his face. Then Tanaka punches him in the shoulder, and they start explaining.  
«Ever heard of parkour?»

It becomes a sort of after after-school-activity activity. But that’s a mouthful so it only ever gets described as hang outs. They hang out after practice, and on weekends, whenever there is spare time to teach their new little recruit anything, they will teach him. Surprisingly enough, their method of learning by doing and Hinatas capability of learning trough copying, the weeks fly by as he learns more and more. As is with just about everything in their lives, volleyball comes first, parkour second. But that doesn’t mean they don’t squeeze in as much parkour time as they possibly can. Which they incidentally decide to do one slightly overcast Saturday. It’s about half an hour until practice starts, and they’re making their way towards the school by sometimes walking on the road, and sometimes jumping on the rooftops. It all depends on how difficult the distance is, if they think Hinata can handle it, if they’re confident enough in their own abilities and in their teachings.

It’s above a narrow alleyway, a metal fence on the roof they’re standing on the only barrier between them and their goal. Well, that and the two story drop onto concrete. The target is the flat roof on the other side, slightly lower than their starting point. That makes it easier. Noya goes first, with a running start he launches himself off of the fence. Tanaka isn’t far behind him. He watches Noya land with a roll and continue running as he hits the roof as well, though he uses his momentum to simply keep moving forwards. He is still moving forwards, completing the first movement of his running. That’s when it happens.

He hears it. That’s the thing. He hears the metal of the railing clang and vibrate when it shouldn’t. It sounds too much like a collision. He glances back, and everything is too fast and too slow at the same time, because Hinata is soaring trough the air, but it’s just not gonna be enough.   
Noya is further on, but he too has turned around, a half formed yell making it’s way out of his mouth. It sounds so far away.  
«Shouyou!»  
The name isn’t even fully out before Tanaka has started moving. He isn’t sure what he’s trying to do, isn’t really sure if there’s anything he can do. But dammit he’s going to try. He’s going to give his fucking all because whatever Hinata meets at the end of that fall is gonna be bloody and probably destroy his volleyball career one way or another. He changes the direction of his movement, completing the action by swinging his body around and sprinting back to the edge of the roof. The flow of his limbs feel too smooth and light for the heavy wight already settled in his stomach. Like dancing.  
Everything moves rapidly, a collision of bodies and a tangle of limbs, slamming against metal and concrete. And then a lot of pain before the darkness. But he’s pretty sure Hinata’s okay. He’s okay. It’s gonna be fine. He has to be fine.   
Wait, those aren’t his thoughts. He doesn’t remember what comes after  that.

What happened was this. Tanaka collides into Hinata in mid air, using his heavier build to redirect the momentum towards a closed dumpster shoved against the opposite wall in the snug alleyway. The collision throws them off balance, and while Hinata lands mostly unharmed (he’ll have a few scrapes and bruises, nothing he can’t handle, nothing worse than what he’s faced while playing volleyball) on top of the dumpster instead of the asphalt ground, Tanaka isn’t that lucky. His legs hit the edge of the dumpster instead, and his downwards path ends only once his body connects with the rough asphalt. Noya watches from above, where he had raced to the edge as Tanaka had jumped. He stares down at the form of his best friend, his very best friend in the whole fucking world, and he is terrified.  
«RYUU!»   
He doesn’t sound like himself. He sounds broken, scared out of his wits, he sounds like his world might have ended. Hinata looks on shellshocked as Noya makes his way down to where Tanaka has collapsed, where he still isn’t moving. Isn’t groaning in pain, or struggling to get up, he’s just, lying there. Motionless. It’s not a good look on him, if Noya had the presence of mind to really deliberate it.  
«Ryuu c’mon you’re gonna be fine. You’re okay, you’re okay. It’s gonna be fine. You have to be fine. Please Ryuu.» Noya is rambling as he kneels next to him, turning him over so he’s lying fully on his back instead of in a crumpled heap. He glances over his best friend. Everything is too rushed in his head, no time for anything other than the main focus, no time for dwelling on things, no time for crying right now. There are a lot of minor scrapes and cuts on his arms and legs from the asphalt, there’s a huge gash in his left knee from colliding with the dumpster, but the scariest thing is probably the trail of blood forming sickening patterns on his face, sluggishly leaking from a cut on his forehead. It could be superficial, but it could also be so much worse, Noya knows this. They both know this, they were teaching Shouyou this. Minor injuries are a given while learning, you can’t get everything right on the first try. But this is so much worse than anything they’ve ever faced before. They’ve been so god damned careful so they wouldn’t have to face this kind of situation.Noya isn’t sure he’ll survive this without Ryuu by his side. 

Except Ryuu can’t be there now, because he’s on the ground. Probably bleeding out or something. That is what finally pulls Noya out of the trance. He feels like his head has been swimming for hours, but it’s probably closer to just a few seconds. He pulls out his phone, looks up at Hinata who has managed to crawl to the edge of the dumpster and is staring down with eyes that are too wide even for him. He’s shaking, really badly.  
«You okay?» Noya asks, just to be sure the ambulance he’s about to call doesn’t need space for two people instead of one. Hinata nods slowly, and that’s good enough. Noya can’t spot any severe injuries on him either so he calls the ambulance. The conversation is short, clipped. He feels detached as he talks to the voice on the other end of the line. Waiting for it to arrive is probably the longest 7 and three quarter minutes he’s ever had to wait, and yes he counted, not much else to do to keep yourself sane in a situation like this. He’s holding Ryuus hand, making sure he keeps breathing. That at least is regular, and it’s a blessing in and of itself. His other arm is slung around the hunched shoulders of Hinata, who has stopped shaking so vigorously, whose hands are still as death as they clutch the hem of his jacket. Like it’s the only lifeline he has. Noya knows he’s probably in shock, and probably feeling guilty about it all. And he promises himself, distantly in the part of his mind that isn’t panicking and chanting ‘please be okay’ over and over, that once this is all over he’s going to reassure Hinata that it isn’t his fault. No matter what he thinks about it, no matter what happens, it isn’t his fault.

The ambulance takes all three of them. They confirm his suspicions about Hinata being in shock, but they also surprise him by saying he might be experiencing some of the same symptoms, even though he seems to be slightly more present. He can tell that to them, they’re all just kids. Three kids out playing on a Saturday because that’s what kids do. It’s been a long time since he felt so young. He’s so so young, there is so much he hasn’t done yet. Things he still needs to do. He had plans. Ryuu and he had plans. They were gonna conquer nationals together, they were gonna go to university together, they were gonna be roomies and do stupid shit that teenagers do. Maybe he can’t now. Maybe he’ll be all alone now. Maybe he’ll have to face the terrifying reality of adult responsibilities without his best friend. Maybe he’ll have to grow up without Ryuu. There are too many maybes, and if Noya knows one thing it’s that he can’t dwell on them for too long, it distracts from what’s going on right now. What’s going to happen in the immediate future. And right here, right now, Ryuu is breathing and alive. Right now that’s all that has to matter, or he might loose it. As they get to the hospital Hinata and Noya are left in the waiting room, and a nurse with a gentle voice and kind eyes comes over and talks to them until Hinata lets go of his jacket, and Noya lets go of Hinata.

Practice is almost over when they show up, Hinatas mother having dropped them off on their request, after picking them up at the hospital. They had waited there in the hallway until Saeko had shown up, and then for the doctor to tell them if Ryuu was okay. Saeko had clung onto Noya as if he was the sort of familiar comfort she needed. Maybe he was, in a way. She is the sister he never had, maybe he is her second brother as well. She had been so unlike herself, so quiet and still. He guesses he wasn’t any better off himself. Hinata sure wasn’t. It was painful to leave her, but she had practically forced him to, he was so tired. He knows she noticed, beaches that’s the kind of person Tanaka Saeko is. And maybe, just maybe, if he went home and slept he’d wake up tomorrow and realize this was all a bad dream. Of course that’s not what happens, that’s not what he does. Instead they go to practice, to inform the others that one of their own is hurt. It goes over as well as expected. As soon as they enter Daichi and Ukai are both ready to chew them out, but after taking one look at them, how tired and broken they seem, they seem to deflate a little. Annoyance replaced by worry. Everyone gathers around them and waits, agitated and probably wanting to push for an answer, but too considerate to do so. Too mindful of the silence two of the loudest members of the team create.  
«Ryuu’s in the hospital.» Noya says. It’s a very simple statement, except it really isn’t. There is more silence, worried and horrified facial expressions all around.  
«They think he’ll be alright, but…» And it hangs in the air like the blade of a guillotine. Hovering above and dropping without notice. They think, they believe, if all goes well, if this or that doesn’t happen. If he wakes up without trouble. If he heals without trouble. If he can move his leg without trouble. There are too many uncertainties. Hinatas mom drives him home, since his own parents aren’t home. And he goes up to his room, and he collapses in his bed. That’s when the tears start. Finally. He falls asleep with a pounding head, a heavy heart, and a somewhat comforting mantra of ‘at least he’s alive’.

His mother wakes him up at 8pm, presumably after having come home to a house that was far too quiet. He knows he looks like a mess, his clothes are rumpled and his eyes feel puffy.  
«Yuu.» She says softly. Stroking his cheek. Petting his hair. She is rarely so gentle with him. He gets his energy from somewhere and it is definitely her. She is a force of nature, one to be reckoned with, but she can be calm too. Serene. Her eyes are ocean blue, and it is an apt description of her.  
«Ryuu’s in the hospital.» It is painful to repeat it, but she says nothing more. Just wraps her arms around him, engulfing him in warmth, in her familiar scent, in the kind of comfort he needs right now. The kind of comfort he knows Saeko was seeking from him. It hurts even more now. His mother is a reassuring presence who’s always right when she says it’s going to be okay. She does so now, too. Whispers it as she strokes his hair, rubs his back, rocks back and forth slowly. When he has stopped shaking again she lets go.  
«I’m going to make dinner, just rest here and then try to eat something later. Your father will be home soon.» She gets up, heads for the door, turns around at the last second.  
«Just call for me if you need anything alright? Even if it’s just another hug, don’t hesitate.»   
«I will, thanks.»   
She closes the door and he falls back onto his bed once more, but he isn’t tired anymore. Well, he’s not the kind of tired that requires sleep at least. Maybe he doesn’t feel tired, he muses. Maybe he feels like he’s hollow. That’s it, probably. He can’t cry anymore at least. He doesn’t move until his mother calls him down for dinner.

If his mother is an ocean then his father is the shore. A rocky and solid thing that seemingly never changes, but the ocean can smooth out any sharp edges as long as it is given time. As long as it is persistent. He is a steady presence in Noyas life, and probably what has granted him his stubbornness and thickheadedness when it comes down to it. His mother used to tell him about their younger days. How they had often come crashing together in heated arguments that were really just their nerves acting up around each other. And once that got sorted out it had been almost completely smooth sailing from there. He sits at the dinner table now, looking contemplative and gloomy. Silent and unchanging, except forever changing in the smallest of ways. Where it matters. Noyas parents are both fond of Ryuu. He’s been around their son for so long that he is a constant fixture now. The boys are practically connected at the hip, and it’s difficult to imagine one without the other these days. He is precious to them because they can see how precious he is to Yuu.  
«We can go visit him tomorrow. And we’ll see how Saeko is doing as well. Ask if she needs any help.» His father says quietly. His mother nods, and he gives the closest thing to a smile that he has since he watched Ryuu jump off of the roof.  
«Sounds good.» He says, whispers really. His voice cracks a bit. Nobody mentions it.  
His parents share a look, because quiet is not their sons style. It is worrisome.

Saeko is there, predictably. Ryuu is still unconscious. He looks like he’s asleep, and it would have settled Noyas nerves if it wasn’t for the small area between his eyebrows. That little spot on Ryuus forehead that is pinched together, breaking the illusion of a peaceful sleep, transforming it into something painful instead. When Saeko looks up from where she’s sat next to the bed, holding onto her little brothers hand with a grip that is far too gentle for her, she meets Noyas eyes first. Then she looks at his parents. She gets up slowly, like she’s been sitting still too long, like her shoulders and back are stiff from being hunched over. Noya is walking towards her before she has taken the first step. They cling to each other, because they are both broken, and it feels easier trying to hold yourself together when someone else is helping you keep the pieces from flying in every direction. This is a shared pain they can both understand, even though they don’t really want to face it. Another presence makes its way into the small space they have created, and Noya knows that his mother is hugging them both now as well. It feels nice like this, almost safe. They break apart.  
«How are you doing, Saeko?» She asks.  
«As well as I can, under the circumstances. But I’ll be fine. He’ll be fine, and then I’ll be fine. He’s a strong kid. Strong and stubborn like a bull. With just as thick of a skull.» She smiles, it’s not the usual radiant and mischief laden smile Noya is used to, and it breaks his heart a little more. But it’s a smile, it’s small and genuine. And it gives him more hope than anything. His parents both smile at her. They all settle down in the chairs provided around the bed. Saeko and Noya on one side, and his parents on the other. Saeko takes Ryuus hand again, almost absentmindedly, as if it’s second nature to hold onto him. It probably is.  
«Is there anything we can do to help you?» His mother asks form across the bed, Noya is already slipping away from the conversation, looking at Ryuu.  
«I don’t know, I haven’t really gotten that far yet. It’s just, a lot. To take in.» Saeko sounds far away too, and then his mothers reply sounds like it’s coming from across the room. He’s pretty sure they keep talking, but his eyes have found Ryuu, and he doesn’t have the strength to look away. He’s studied Ryuus face before, many many times before. It’s what happens when they have constant sleepovers, you just end up watching your best bro sleep for a little. Studying his face and features. How he breathes and how his face moves when he dreams. He likes observing, he does it a lot. On and off the court, it’s a pretty valuable skill to have. Of course he’s also easily distracted. There is nothing to distract him now however. Just the muted conversation happening across the bed. He glances at the hand Saeko is holding, the one closest to himself, and he has the urge to reach out and touch, just to make sure. Just to make sure that the heartbeat he felt was still there. There’s a sudden urge in him, the need to know. It doesn’t matter that Ryuu is lying perfectly still in a hospital bed, asleep, breathing, living. It’s like the visual input has no value anymore. He moves as if underwater, slowly and with a slight resistance. His hand clasps Ryuus upper arm, the steady heartbeat beneath his fingertips soothe the worry away, and it’s only then that he realizes the conversation has stopped. But it’s a far away notion, one that doesn’t really register until Saeko reaches out to him. «Yuu, you okay?» He blinks, looks at her hand, the one not holding Ryuus, now laid on his shoulder. He looks up at her and is about to say he’s fine. But when he opens his mouth he chokes on his words. The second try is much more successful.  
«Yeah, ‘m fine.» He whispers.  
«Saeko’s going to stay with us until Ryuunosuke can go home.» His father says, and he wants to be ashamed at the fact that they are very much aware of how little attention he was paying to their conversation. He really really wants to, but he can’t bring himself to feel that bad about it. He’s trying to keep his gaze on his father, but he can feel it slipping, wanting to return to Ryuus face.  
«Okay.» He replies instead. 

Monday morning practice is a sullen affair. Noya hasn’t slept well two nights in a row. Usually he would be absolutely fine functioning on little to no sleep. He could go days with barely three hours per night. But he’s it’s a different kind of tired aura that has settled over him. He’s aimless, mostly. Throughout practice it’s clear the usual morale and spirit is lacking. When you’re missing a part of the loudest group, it is painfully obvious. Ukai and Takeda say nothing. Daichi doesn’t even really scold Noya when he misses a receive he totally could have gotten. Noya feels the irritation gnaw away at him. Feels it resting in his gut and in his chest, berating himself for letting it go this far. It peaks when he misses his seventh block follow up that he knows he could have saved. He doesn’t get up from the floor. Instead he presses his forehead against the polished wooden surface and grits his teeth. It lasts for just a second too long, enough for it to get the attention of every single person in the room. He lets out a heavy sigh and heaves himself up into a standing position, instead up jumping back onto his feat as usual.  
«Sorry, I’m going out for a bit.» And then he walks right off the court and outside of the building. He knows it’s a bit of a stupid thing to do. And it probably isn’t fair. He isn’t the only one who misses Ryuu. He definitely isn’t the only one who is painfully aware of the missing part of the team. He isn’t the only one affected, and it’s selfish of him to do this to them. To Hinata. Noya sighs deep and heavy as he thinks of his kouhai. He had looked even worse than Noya this morning. His silence only added to the feeling of deafening quiet that had settled over the gym as practice started. Noya hadn’t even had a chance to talk to him yet, like he promised himself he would. He is the literal worst. Taking a deep breath he returns to the gym. The others are still playing, but the usual atmosphere is still lacking. He takes his place on the court again once the next ball drops, and the serve is about to be hit. «Sorry.» He calls out again, and drops down into a defensive stance, knees bent and arms ready. He’s ready to leave it at that, but then Ennoshita, standing alongside him on the back half of the court, turns to him. «We know you’re worried, and it’s okay.» And apparently that’s where they’ll leave it instead. Because Ennoshita mimics his pose, ready to receive the serve, and the game continues.

He catches Shouyou as they leave the changing rooms for the first class of the day.  
«How’re you doing?» Noya asks, softer than he’s probably ever spoken to the other before.  
«I’m, well, I’m fine I guess.» He mumbles, not really meeting Noyas eyes.  
«You know you can talk to me, right? If somethings bothering you or anything.»   
«Yeah, I know.» He pauses, tries to meet Noyas eyes, ducks his head away again. «I’m sorry.» Shouyou finally whispers to his shoes, but Noya hears him. He is confused for all of two seconds. «Wait, don’t tell me you blame yourself for what happened?» Noya feels like he should shout it, should be outraged that it had even crossed Hinatas mind. Instead it’s a whispered question, spoken into the small space they have created for themselves by the corner of the school building. He still won’t meet Noyas eyes, and that’s answer enough. «It’s not your fault, Shouyou. Ryuu won’t think it is either. It was an accident, an accident that could have ended so much worse. But it didn’t because Ryuu is a great guy, and we’re lucky that he is. Don’t blame yourself okay? Please don’t. If anything it’s Ryuu and mines fault for getting you started on parkour in the first place.» His small rant tapers off, and the silent atmosphere is about to return to their small huddle until, «No!» Shouyou exclaims. The bubble around them cracks. Shouyou sucks in a heavy breath, as if he’s about to give Noya a rant right back,  
«It’s not your fault either.» Is all he says, and then the warning bell rings and they both head off to their respective classes.

Noya has one hand on his phone most of the day. Waiting for any update on Ryuus condition. Saeko had gotten a few days off of work to collect herself, and watch over her brother. She’d promised to relay any and all information. It isn’t until about an hour after lunch break that he feels his phone vibrate. It sends a jolt trough him and he very quickly and discreetly fishes it out of his pocket. When he sees the message he can’t help the grin that creeps over his face. He feels more alive than he has in days. More awake, like finally getting a breath of fresh air after having been inside a stuffy room for hours.  
«Nishinoya!» His teacher calls, but he’s too elevated to even look chastised. He meets her annoyed gaze with the smile still firmly on his face. «Yes!» He answers, loudly, boisterously. Happy. That might be what gets to her. He knows he’s been gloomy all day, even more than usual, and it’s obvious when he’s usually unable to even sit still. She deflates just slightly. «Put your phone away.» She says sternly, but softly. And he does it without complaints. He feels like someone breathed new life into him, like he could float away with the light feeling in his chest. It’s practically torture sitting still the rest of the day, but when the final bell rings he’s the first out of his seat, tearing down the hallway and outside. He stops a little bit away from the gym to call Saeko like she’d asked him to. Which is why he jumps trough the door three minutes late to practice. But no one has time to even utter a single syllable before they see the radiant smile on his face. The bounce is back in his step, and he lets his voice carry as far as it will go when he shouts.  
«HE’S AWAKE!»   
The entire gym is in chaos until Daichi snaps at them. At which point they all quiet down again. He huffs, but he’s smiling so widely that it carries none of the usual irritation. Ukai, Takeda, and Kiyoko have also drawn closer, looking too happy for words just like the rest of them.  
«How is he?» Daichi finally asks, and it is deadly quiet as they wait for him to speak. «He’s awake and talking and there’s nothing wrong with his head. No concussion, no damage, no nothing. He can go home tomorrow.» Noya can’t stop grinning as he talks. Ryuu is awake and well and it’s gonna be okay. He hasn’t felt so calm yet so full of energy in what feels like ages. His best friend is okay.  
«And his knee?» Suga asks, a slight crease between his eyebrows.  
«No fracture, no complications as they stitched him up, as soon as he heals up he’s free to play again.» Noya is practically vibrating where he stands, and a collective sigh rushes trough the gym as his hastily spoken words process. The luckiest outcome possible. It’s almost too good to be true.  
«AND!» Noya continues, «We can go visit him after practice!»   
The sullen air of the morning seems like it was a different lifetime as the rekindled spirits of Karasuno take on practice with new vigor. 

It is a slightly rowdy group of teenage boys that swamp the waiting room and the receptionists counter that afternoon. Daichi is at the front, pushing them and trying to get them to behave, somewhat. It’s difficult, which is understandable, and he can’t really blame them either. He’s about to talk to the slightly worried looking receptionist when one Tanaka Saeko strides around the corner and calls out to them,  
«Hey! I can hear you guys from the second floor, come on!» she leads the way up the stairs and down a hallway. Back to the room Noya had visited yesterday, a yesterday that happened eternities ago, except this time when the door opens and his gaze settles on the figure on the bed, his eyes lock onto Ryuus own very much open and very much awake gaze. Noya swears he can feel the grin splitting his face open. Going impossibly wide. He looks tired, but he’s smiling and aware and he’s so wonderfully alive that Noya could cry again. Except he won’t. Because that would be lame.   
«Ryuu!»  
Instead he is the first one trough the door. He’s as close to sitting on the bed as he can get without actually clambering all over Ryuu. «Hey Yuu.» Ryuu replies, not as loudly but just as enthusiastic, and Noyas heart soars.  
The rest of the team files in, and though it’s a tight fit they all make it inside and around the bed.  
«How’re you feeling?» Suga asks.  
«Like I hit a concrete wall, but slightly better.» And they laugh. Conversation flows easy, generally enquiring about how long it’ll take him to heal, how it affects his playing, and possibly the interhigh preliminaries. They joke, and Ennoshita threatens him with homework assignments, but there is something amiss still. There’s a slight lull in the conversation as the laughter after Tsukishimas sarcastic quip dies down. «Hinata?» Ryuu asks. The poor boy looks like a deer in the headlights, refusing to meet his eyes, clutching the hem of his jacket. Something in Noyas chest hurts as he watches the hands wring the poor garment to death.  
«I’m sorry.» He whispers, and Noya is about to launch into another heartfelt rant when Ryuu beats him to it.  
«It’s not your fault.» He says simply, sternly. No room for argument. It’s an unusual tone for him to take on, but he is capable of it none the less. Noya has to admit that while he does love the idiotic side of Ryuu, the one they bring out and amplify in each other, he also likes that he can be serious. That he can be taken seriously so easily by just changing his voice.  
«It was an accident, and something much worse could have happened, but it didn’t. And I’m glad it didn’t.» There’s a finality in those words that has the entire group of people crammed into a room too small for 11 athletic high school boys falling silent. That is, until Hinata meets Ryuus eyes again, and smiles.  
«Will you guys still teach me when you’re better?» Ryuu looks at Noya, and they grin before answering in tandem. «Hell yeah!»

Ryuu doesn’t go home on Tuesday. Instead he joins Saeko in staying with the Nishinoyas for the time being. Saeko has to work, but Tanaka can’t really walk yet, so Noyas father has volunteered his services, as he stays home most days anyway.   
«It’s the perks of a home office.» He says with an easy smile as Saeko continues to thank him. It’s been stressful for her, Noya knows, and having her and Ryuu stay with them for some time sounds nice.   
«Saeko has been sleeping in the guest bedroom, where would you like to sleep Ryuu?» Noyas mother asks as Saeko carries the bag she packed for him trough the door. Ryuu struggles to get in even with the help of the crutches, and he looks exhausted from just the short walk to the front door. He still smiles as he talks.  
«I’ll just sleep in Yuus room like I usually do, if that’s alright.» Noya beats them all to answering.  
«Hell yeah dude! Extended sleepover!» And he grins, until he catches his mothers stern look.  
«Just remember that you still have school tomorrow Yuu.»  
«Yes yes, we’ll go to bed at a reasonable hour, don’t worry.»  
They don’t. Instead they stay up far too late to talk. Ryuu has abandoned the spare futon on the floor in favor of squeezing into Yuus bed, like they sometimes do. Neither of them thinks for a second that they can fool the other. They both welcome the closeness after what’s happened. Yuu has an inner debate that lasts all of two seconds before he turns on his side to face Ryuu.  
«I’m gonna hug you for a while, if that’s okay with you.» Ryuu simply opens his arms, welcoming him into his personal space. He can’t really move much because of the bandaged leg. so Yuu settles against his side, head pillowed on his arm as he clutches Ryuus chest, and Ryuus other arm rests on Yuus shoulder.   
«You scared me you know.» Yuu says.  
«I know, but-» He’s not allowed to finish.  
«Yeah yeah, I wouldn’t have wanted Shouyou to get hurt even worse either, but you still scared me.» Noya interrupts.  
«I don’t blame myself either so stop thinking that. It was just a stupid accident. They happen sometimes. And this time it ended as well as it could have. Just, don’t do that again.» He finishes.  
«I’ll try.» Ryuu says.  
«Not good enough. I know you’ll always try to help people, you’re so fucking soft and selfless like that, and it’s an admirable quality in you. And i won’t make you promise not to do what you think you need to do. But just, promise not to leave me, okay? No matter what happens, you don’t get to leave me behind like I thought you would.» Ryuu is silent for a second too long, because Yuu whispers a tiny,  
«Please.» And that just about breaks him.  
«I promise. But only if you promise me the same. Don’t leave me either. Ever. This is a forever kind of deal, y’know?» he glances down at the mess of brown hair on his arm, since Noyas face is currently pressed awaits his chest.  
«I can live with that.» He mumbles into Ryuus shirt. They both smile, and they both know the other is smiling without looking at each other. And that’s how they fall asleep.

It’s a chore for Yuu to drag himself out of bed the next morning. It’s warm, and comfortable, and he really just wants to hide underneath the blankets next to this soft and warm lump next to him for the rest of the day. His blaring phone alarm has other ideas though. He drags himself out of bed, pulling the covers back over Ryuu as he notices the other teen stirring.  
«No, you sleep. You don’t actually have to get up yet. Lucky bastard.» He’s grumbling, but also smiling, and Ryuu simply burrows down into the covers happily snoring on. Noya gets ready for school. He goes to the bathroom and showers, brushes his teeth, styles his hair, and gets dressed. When he goes back into his room to get his gym and school bag Ryuu is sitting up in the bed. The covers are draped over his head and around his shoulders. The sight makes Noya chuckle.  
«Now you’re really working the monk look. Hungry?» He asks, and Ryuu simply grumbles a positive response, ignoring the remark. Or maybe not noticing? He looks about as close to asleep a human can possibly be while still remaining awake. After handing him his crutches Ryuu struggles into a standing position and follows Noya into the kitchen with the promise of food.  
«Good morning boys.»  «Morning mom!» Noya exclaims, Ryuu opting to stick to his grumbling still. The painkillers aren’t exactly doing him any favors in the awake department, but Noya will take a Ryuu half awake over a Ryuu in pain any day.

The school day in itself is as boring as it could ever be, even more so without Ryuu to hang out with during lunch, without Ryuu to hang out with during practice, without Ryuu to hang out with after practice. He’s made a silent vow to not do parkour with Shouyou until Ryuu is better again, so there is no entertainment to be found there. However it’s almost worth it as he comes home with an extra set of homework to his dad and Ryuu hanging out in the living room. Apparently talking about a drama show they’re watching.  
«All I’m saying is that it’s an over used trope, especially in this series. She should be able to practically predict the outcome by now! Nothing ever changes.» Ryuu complains, and Noya has heard complaints much too similar to not understand exactly what’s going on.  
«Dad, why did you let him see ‘Missing Days, Missing Hearts’? We won’t be able to shut him up for the rest of the day now!» Noya says in lieu of a greeting, toeing off his shoes and dropping his bag by the staircase.  
«I didn’t know this would be the outcome.» His father replies as Noya sticks his head in trough the doorway.  
«Hey, I don’t complain that much!» Ryuu objects from his seat on the sofa, one leg elevated onto the table and crutches leaning against the armrest.  
«You haven’t had anything but complaints for the show since season three dude!» «Season three-» Ryuu starts,  
«Was the last good season in a soon to be downward spiral of terrible acting and even worse writing.» Noya finishes for him.  
«Yet you still watch it?» Noyas father asks, looking as if he has been left out of the loop for two seasons. Much like the heroines best friend if you were to ask Ryuu.  
«I still like the characters, even though they stopped the really important development of relationships and character building halfway trough season four.» Ryuu explains.  
«It’s become one of those ‘I have to see it trough to the end’ things for him.» Noya translates. His father only nods in what seems to go for the bare minimum of understanding. Noya wanders over to the sofa and stands next to the armrest where Ryuu is leaning his elbow. Looking at the screen as the all too familiar ‘To Be Continued’ frame flashes before the credits roll. The theme music fills the room and the two on the sofa sigh in unison.  
«I’ll admit, the constant cliff hangers have become a bit tiering.» His father relents, and Ryuu punches the air with a whoop of victory.  
«But now that Yuu’s home, don’t the two of you have homework?» His only answer is twin looks of disgust. He chuckles, but gives Noya a stern stare down. Noya relents and goes to get his bag.  
«There’s not that much today. And some of it is due next week anyway. If we get this done we can play some video games afterwards!» 

Thursday and Friday pass in much the same manner. Yuu wakes up closer to Ryuu than he should be comfortable with, but there is only so much that can be uncomfortable after the amount of sleepovers and awkward moments they’ve had. He gets ready for school, wakes Ryuu up, eats, goes to school and practice, comes home and does homework with Ryuu, and then spends the evening playing video games, or talking, or reading, or generally doing pretty much anything in the company of Ryuu. And then they go to bed. Except not really, because you don’t just go to bed with another person, you lie awake and you talk. About everything and anything, your day, your dreams, your nightmares. It’s normal, and comfortable, and Yuu thinks he’ll miss doing this once Ryuu gets better. When he says this Ryuu agrees with him. And they fall asleep. On Saturday the team comes over to check on Ryuu. It is strange not having him around after all. It was different when Asahi and Noya were missing. Back then they all hadn’t really found their place yet, hand’t slotted together into the team they’ve become. But now. Now his absence is felt deeply by the entire team, and he is missed. They spend the day in the Nishinoya household, mostly in the back yard since the sun is out, goofing around with their friends. Ryuu has become very good at using his crutches, and moves naturally and almost as fast as normal. It’s not as heartbreaking to look at as it was when he was still unsteady. When he looked like he might fall over any second. He gets tired quickly though, a combination of painkillers and his body trying to heal itself. They sit in a circle on the grass, talking and laughing. Ryuu sits between Yuu and Hinata, occasionally the two smaller players will brush against him. He doesn’t really know if it’s intentional or not, but he knows it’s just something they need after what happened. He’s noticed that Yuu is much more physically affectionate with him now. It’s not that he minds, but it’s a bit strange. 

«Let’s play never have I ever!» Suga shouts suddenly. There are murmurs of general agreement to varying extents, but they all eventually end up with one hand raised and waiting for the first person to speak. Asahi goes first.  
«Never have i ever, uh, karate chopped someone in the ribs.» Suga glares as he curls one finger against his hand, and Asahi attempts to hide behind Daichi despite it being physically impossible. They follow the order of the circle, so Daichi goes next. «Never have I ever been referred to as ‘team mom’.» Daichi says with a smug smile, watching as Suga tucks yet another finger against his palm. However his face is no longer angry, instead he looks calm. Too calm, almost pleasantly serene. Dread settles in the stomaches of his fellow 3rd years.  
«Never have I ever fallen asleep on the bus back form a game and woken up with matching dick drawings on my face.» The entire team looks on in pure awe as both Asahi and Daichi admits defeat, matching blazing red faces. Suga is still smiling victoriously as the turn passes onto Kinoshita. «Never have I ever incurred the wrath of Miss Robot.» Every second year, including Ennoshita, folds a finger down as Kinoshita smiles triumphantly.  
«Miss Robot?» Hinata questions form the other side of the circle.  
«You first years will meet her soon enough.» And then they leave it at that, while the 3rd years shudder in unison.  
«Never have I ever woken anyone up at 3am to blabber on about movies.» Narita gripes, sending a pointed look towards Ennoshita, which is quickly backed up by Kinoshita and Tanaka. He has the decency to look slightly embarrassed before folding a finger and moving onto his own turn.  
«Never have I ever had a conversation with myself half naked.» He deadpans. Tanaka folds a finger, but it is completely ignored by the unbelieving sound Noya makes from his spot next to him. «Yamaguchi!?» He exclaims, looking in bewilderment at his hand, now only holding up four fingers. Yamaguchi looks like he might die on the spot. Tsukishima clears his throat, effectively pulling all attention to himself as he says,  
«Never have I ever served into the back of someones head.» Hinata squawks at him, growling and muttering as he folds a finger, and trying to very unsuspiciously lean as far away from Kageyama as he can.   
«Never have I ever…uhm…Oh!» Yamaguchi looks as if he has just about forgotten his previous embarrassment as his face lights up in amusement.  
«Never have I ever worn the exact same underwear as my teammates on the same day!» Tsukishima looks as if he was just stabbed in the back, except he makes it look more dignified than Hinata and Kageyama. The three of them each fold down a finger, and refuse to meet each others eyes. Tanaka is the first to break the stunned silence, well almost silence if Yamaguchi's snickering was excluded. His laughter is loud and sets everyone else off as well.  «When did that happen!?» No practically yells trough his uncontrolled laughter, but he gets no answer. The four 1st years are silent, still with the exception of Yamaguchi, and as the laughter dies down Kageyama speaks up, cheeks still aflame.  
«Never have I ever come to school covered in glitter.» he says, and the group laughs as Hinata folds yet another finger, only two remaining.  
«That was Natsus fault and you know it!» he retorts, it only makes them laugh harder.  
«Never have I ever been taller than 165cm!» Hinata shouts in triumph. Noya practically clambers over Tanaka to high five him. «That’s what I’m talking about Shouyou!» he has his right hand on Tanakas left shoulder for balance, and as he settles back down onto the grass it lingers there.  
«Never have I ever puked on someones crotch.» Tanaka says before they can all stop laughing, because this only sends the bunch back into hysterics. Hinata whines as he folds another finger, now down to his last.  
«Never have I ever had a girl scream at me because she thought I was 40 and probably a drug dealer.» Noya says, grinning cheekily at Asahi who reddens as he folds his third finger. However, Asahi is soon smirking and shooting back a,  
«Never have I ever been mistaken for a middle schooler.» And Noyas irritated growl is only drowned out by Hinatas loud complaints.  
«Asahi-saaaaaaan! How could you!» He shouts as he waves his now closed fist around in despair. When the group devolves into fits of laughter this time, none of them really gather themselves enough to continue the game. Noyas hand is still on Tanakas shoulder an hour later when the rest of them leaves.

It’s so quiet when the team has left, they’re back to just the two of them, snuggled together in one bed. Ryuu is probably going home in two days or so, and Yuu doesn’t want to admit that he’s sort of maybe not really looking forward to that. He wishes he could stay with Ryuu here, like this, every night. So close and comforting, and so very much alive that it takes Yuus breath away when he thinks about it too hard. He places his head on Ryuus chest, as he has developed a habit of doing, to simply listen to his heart beating, beating, beating away in there.  «Hey, Noya?» Ryuu asks silently, voice rumbling in his chest. Yuu thinks it might sound a little bit like purring.   
«Yeah?» He mumbles in reply.  
«Don’t, uh, don’t take this the wrong way or anything. I really don’t mind, but just… Have you noticed that you’re a lot more touchy feely lately?» Yuu lifts his head from Ryuus chest to look him in the eyes. He doesn’t really understand what Ryuu is trying to say.  
«What do you mean?»  
«Just, after the accident and all. You touch me a lot more, not that we weren’t pretty comfortable with each other before, but just. You’re basically always touching me in some way if we’re close enough for it and, i don’t know, do you know why?»  
Yuu thinks. He really really thinks, because no he doesn’t know why. He didn’t even know he was doing it in the first place. And now he might be sort of slightly panicking about it. Not about touching Ryuu no, just, about not realizing it. About not knowing why he has had the urge to be as physically close to him as possible.  
«Noya?»  
What made him so blind to his own actions? Did he suddenly just cross a boundary and he didn’t even notice? Oh god, did he make Ryuu uncomfortable? No, no he would have said something sooner. Wouldn’t he? «Yuu!» Yuu snaps out of his daze, refocusing his gaze on Ryuus face when he realizes that his vision has gone unfocused and he’s been staring off into space for a bit too long. Ryuus eyes search his, and he feels like he needs to give him an answer but,  
«I don’t know.» Yuu whispers. And it sounds so small and lost, as if he’s completely lost contact with himself. It breaks Ryuu a little, to hear him like that. He gathers Yuu up in his arms, pulls him closer to his chest, so he’s almost on top of Ryuu.  
«I don’t mind it, it’s nice. But I’m worried about you. Just because I’m the one with the physical injury, it doesn’t mean you’re not hurting too. Trying to heal or something.» Ryuu is staring at the ceiling as he talks, remembering the talk he had with Yuus father.  
«Yuu was very worried while you were unconscious. I haven’t seen him so devastated since his grandmother died. We were very worried about you, all of us, but I think it affected him more than he realizes. He might act slightly different towards you as he heals from the experience as well. It would be best if he talked to someone, and I think that someone would have to be you, Ryuunosuke. I’m very sorry to put such a responsibility on your shoulders, and I understand if you don’t want to, but for both of your sakes it would be best if you talked about it. It would be best if you worked it out together.» He had said, sitting on the sofa next to Ryuu. He hadn’t responded right away, hadn’t known what to even begin to say. Eventually he settles for,  
«I don’t know what I could do, but he’s my best friend, so I’ll do what I can to help him.» Yuus father had smiled at him, old and tired eyes laced with sadness. Ryuu brings a hand up to stroke trough Yuus hair, trying to offer reassurance and comfort. Eventually, Yuu speaks up,  
«When I actually think about it, there’s this need to be close to you, to reassure myself that you’re there and breathing, that your heart’s still going. Sometimes it feels like a really fragile illusion, that could shatter at any moment, and I don’t know why.» He’s whispering by the end, head bowed downwards, but Ryuu still hears him in the quiet room.  
«I think it’ll get better, in a while. But if you need to talk or anything I’m right here, okay?» Yuu simply nods, hair tickling Ryuus chin. He thinks that’s that, and is about to settle down to sleep, but then Yuu speaks up again. «You too. If you need to talk about something I’m here for you too. That’s how this works, you and me.» «Yeah, you and me.» Ryuu agrees easily.

Sunday is spent moving Ryuu and Saeko back into their own place, not that it takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s a thing that needs doing. Yuu spends a lot of the day in his own head, thinking about the previous night. Thinking about how his reaction to almost loosing Ryuu is clinging to him, physically, apparently. But it makes sense. He can’t imagine a future without Ryuu, and being forced to face the possibility of it had sort of thrown him for a loop. Or plunged him into a dark and hopeless chasm. Yeah the latter one seems more accurate. Now he’s just even more determined to keep Ryuu in his life, keep him as close as possible. Because that’s where Yuu wants him. Right next to him, forever. The two of them, together, facing everything life might throw their way. And he had always sort of assumed that would be the deal, in the back of his head, in the bit that deals with long term plans. Now it’s at the forefront of his mind, and it’s all he can think about. HE wants the reassurance of knowing Ryuu is by his side, the reassurance that no matter what happens he can always just turn his head a little to the side, and there he’ll be. Ready to tackle anything together. HE wants the knowledge that he can come home to Ryuu after a terrible day, because Ryuu knows how to make everything better. Ryuu knows how Yuu works, and Yuu knows how Ryuu works. They work best together. That’s just how it is. And if Yuu thinks about maybe holding hands and kissing being a part of the deal, he does not go completely red in the face. «Yuu!?» Ryuu practically screams in his ear, and he falls over onto Ryuus bedroom floor. He blinks, and looks at Ryuu with a mix of accusation and bewilderment.  
«You’ve been spacing out all day.» He says to explain.  
«Yeah, sorry, I’m back now.» Yuu replies.   
«What were you thinking about?» And Yuu can’t lie to him, because that would be like trying to lie to himself.  
«What you said, last night.» And he knows his tone says that’s the end, and he knows Ryuu will pick it up and respect that he doesn’t really want to talk about it.  
«Okay.» Ryuu says in the voice that means he’ll drop it for now, but he will ask again later, because he’s still worried. Yuu can’t help himself when he smiles.

The thing about being able to go to school, but not to volleyball practice, is that it sucks. It straight up, no questions about it, sucks. Which is why Ryuu does everything he can think of short of joining in on practice. He shows up to morning practice, wobbling in on his crutches in his school uniform, and sits on the bench watching his teammates. Sometimes he does homework, when they play practice matches he shouts and hollers as loud as before, but there is a small pit in the bottom of his stomach slowly opening up. It feels sour, like bile, eating away his insides until it’s all a blistered mess of raw jealousy. He wants to be on the court with his friends, with his team, he wants to jump and spike and receive. Most of all he wants to jump around and shout like an idiot with Yuu. He wants to have fun again. Not that he doesn’t have any fun at all, it’s just that. Volleyball is fun, in essence, that’s why he plays. He enjoys playing, loves it even. Every victory, conquered obstacle, every improvement, every moment he gets to have, every single thing he will greedily accept. Because even though a practice might leave him sore and with an unrealistic wish of never to move again, and even though every loss leaves a bitter taste in his mouth and lingering thoughts of everything he could have done better, all of his shortcomings. Even though it can bring out the worst in him, it’s still the best thing ever. He misses the feeling of the ball hitting his arms. He misses his easy camaraderie with Yuu on the court. That might be one of the worst ones. Yuu looking over at him in those moments when they would have shared a look, except now it’s different. It’s tinged with the bitterness of having to look over at the bench. He knows Yuu feels it too.

The feeling only grows over the first week he’s back. It’s Friday, and though he shouts along and complains and makes snarky remarks, the feeling is still lurking. Closer to the surface now. He feels like he might snap. Too much energy stored up from not moving as much as he’s used to.  
«How’s it going?» Noya asks as he settles down next to him. They’re taking a break to catch their breath, have some water. Noya is breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face. It should be slightly off putting, but Ryuu just wishes he was the same. Sweaty and gross, but feeling content.  
«I wanna play.» He says. And it does sound bitter, but they’ve always been honest with each other. So he is now, too. Yuu looks at him, says nothing as his eyes fixate on Ryuus face. He sees, something, but it makes him smile, soft and understanding. Because that’s how they work.  
«Yeah. Wanna hang out after practice?» Ryuu only nods, and watches as Noya sprints back onto the court once they resume. Keeps his eyes trained on him trough the rest of practice. But it’s not like that’s any different form what he’s been doing the rest of the week. When practice finally wraps up Ryuu follows Yuu home. They talk and joke like they usually do, conversation flowing easily, and once they reach Yuus house they immediately go out into the garden.  
«Just stand as still as you can, I’ll bring the ball to you.» Yuu says, and Ryuu wants to point out how much he sounds like Kageyama in that moment, but he doesn’t. Instead he leans the crutches against a chair, within easy reach, and balances carefully. Yuu sets the ball to him, and it falls almost perfectly in place for him to hit it back. Minimal movement of his lower body required. They hit the ball back and forth carefully like that for a while, and once they’re satisfied Ryuus arms are red and stinging like he’s been missing. He doesn’t know how to thank Yuu, so he gives him the sappiest smile he can manage, slinging one arm around his shoulders in a comfortable embrace.   
«Don’t mention it.» Yuu says.  
«I literally said nothing.» «Your eyes were speaking to me.» They both burst out laughing as they retreat back into the house.

On Monday Ryuu has physiotherapy right after practice, and gets picked up by Saeko as soon as the team is done cooling down.  
«See you tomorrow!» He shouts as he makes his way to the parking lot. The rest of the team wave back as Noya shouts after him. Once he’s out of sight Noya faces Asahi.  
«Can I talk to you on the way home?» He asks, and Asahi simply nods. He too knows how Noya works, to some degree, and right now he needs a friend to talk to. The only thing Asahi ca’t figure out is why he wan’t to talk to him, when Noya has practically not left Tanakas presence since he came back. It’s like it’s impossible to catch them away from each other nowadays. After getting changed and starting the portion of the way home that overlap for the two of them, Noya finally speaks up again.  
«I’ve had something on my mind lately, to do with Ryuu.» Asahi is so silent that Noya has to look at him to make sure he actually said it out loud. ashes face is read, but he is smiling, slightly crookedly, a mix of fond and amused.  
«Really?» He asks, aiming for disbelief and ending up so far away from it that he almost wants to cringe. Noya notices, of course.  
«What’s that supposed to mean?» He wants to cross his arms, and puff his chest out, try to look a little bit more intimidating and demanding. He also knows for a fact that the tactic never works.  
«Well, you’ve been a lot closer recently, and while it might’ve been the accident I don’t think it is. You seem almost hesitant sometimes. The new closeness you seem fine with, but then there are thing you used to do that you hesitate on. As if you’re trying to see it from a different angle or something. But honestly? I don’t think you need to be so concerned with it.» Asahi rambles, sounding too grown up and rational for Noyas liking. Except it seems to be exactly what he needs right now.  
«I think I might have a crush on him.»  
«Ah, that’s your problem right there.» Asahi exclaims. «What!?» Noya practically yells. «Ah! No! I didn’t!» Asahi flails as Noya stares at him, eventually collecting himself so he can continue.  
«What I meant was that you’re trying to view a possible romantic relationship between you and Tanaka as a different kind from your platonic one. Which really isn’t necessary by the way. You’re already about as close as two people can be, and if you want to be together then that’s that. You don’t need to change your entire relationship just because the label changes. I mean, yeah, if you do like couple-y pda stuff that’s different, but it’s not a far stretch from where you are now. Ugh. Is this making any sense to you?» Noya is very quiet as he mulls over Asahis words.  «I think I get it. I’ve been thinking that a romantic relationship has to be different somehow, when it doesn’t actually need to be.» He nods, turning and grinning at Asahi, who simply smiles relieved back. 

«How was school?» Saeko asks him as he clambers into the front seat.  
«Boring.» He sighs out, letting his body sink into the seat.  
«And practice?» She continues.  
«Less boring, but more so than usual. It’s just about not getting to actually do much, y’know?» He answers.  
«Yeah, it sucks having to sit out and watch your friends so the thing you all love doing without you.» She says absentmindedly, focusing on the streetlights ahead of her. He simply groans, letting the hum of his mind take over the dull car ride. He hums in response, mind dulling and eyes following the moving scenery.  
«How’s Yuu doing?» The question catches him a bit off guard, and he has to actually think about how to answer. Apparently it’s taking him too long, because Saeko looks over at him with a worried glance.   
«He’s okay.» He hurries to assure her, but then backtracks again.  
«I think. Well, he’s better now. I think he misses playing with me, which feels nice.» He’s facing forwards again, watching the road and the oncoming traffic, letting himself sink into the seat further. Saekos car is old and worn, in a comfortable and familiar way. They’ve had a lot of road trips, and a lot of deep meaningful conversations in the old thing. Old Clunk, as Yuu had once called it. And then it sort of stuck. It makes him smile to think about.  
«No wonder. You’ve basically been attached to each other since you met. Like some sort of fated meeting or whatever.» Ryuu has to agree. They just clicked, or whatever, when they met. It was so easy to become friends, and then best friends, and then. And then what? The question scares him just a little. As if he’s attempting to cross an unspoken barrier. A line that’s been drawn in sand, too easy to erase if he could just muster up the courage to.  
«I used to have a friend back in high school, sort of like Yuu. Her name was Hana. We were thick as thieves, always getting into trouble.» When he looks over she has a dreamy and far away expression on her face. Like she’s longing for those days again. Saeko has never been ashamed of herself, never denied liking both guys and girls. He’s heard countless tales of crushes, both successful and unsuccessful. But he hasn’t heard of Hana before.  
«I think I used to love her, back then, I just didn’t know. And she was very straight, as it turns out. But we needed up growing apart, and it’s one of the few things I regret.» He hasn’t heard this story before, and it makes him think. Makes him think about Yuu, about parallels. But more than anything else, it makes him think of why she’s bringing this up now, and in this context.  
«I don’t think Yuu is straight.» Is what comes out of his mouth instead. As if that’s the fact he’s become hung up on. Okay yeah that is definitely what’s on his mind at the moment. Saeko says nothing, her face not revealing anything of what might be going trough her mind.  
«And you?» She asks. He can’t really read her tone, but he knows she is being careful right now. As if she knows she’s stepping onto unexplored territory. He appreciates it. He has been thinking about that lately though. That maybe, if it was someone like Yuu, someone he had a really good relationship with. He makes his mind up.  
«I don’t think I’m all that straight either.» There’s a hand on his head before he knows it, roughly yet affectionately rubbing over his buzzcut.  
«Just make sure you don’t let go of him. Like I did. I can see he means too much to you, and you mean too much to him.» She’s still facing the road, hand on his head, as he turns to her. She’s smiling.  
«I remembered something yesterday.» He says as she puts her hand back on the steering wheel. They’re both looking at the road again. She hums, telling him to continue.  
«Right before I blacked out, I heard a voice.» He pauses, as if remembering it all over again. Going trough it in his mind to make sure he isn’t mistaken.  
«It was Yuu, begging me to be okay.» He knows she’s looking at him now, but he can’t look back at her. Knows that if he stops looking at the road he’ll stop talking, and he won’t be able to pick it back up. But he needs to say it, needs to get it out there to make it real. And he knows Saeko is the only one he wants to know, because she is on his side, in every fight. She is his number one supporter, and she knows what to do. And even if she can’t do or say anything, if she can’t help him in any way, at least she’ll listen. She’ll make it easier. She’s the best sister, and he should make sure she knows that more often.  
«And I remember having this very vague feeling of, I don’t know. Ugh!» He exclaims, rubbing his hand over his short hair, trying to put words to everything that’s been tumbling around his head lately.  
«I don’t know how to put it into words. But after making sure Hinata was okay, his voice was right there and I remember feeling this, this feeling that makes me think ‘I can’t leave him’.» As the last words leave him he feels deflated.   
«You’ve got it bad.» Is all Saeko says, and when he finally looks over at her her eyes are soft and fond, full of adoration yet also slightly teasing. Because she is his big sister, and as big sister she has teasing rights. He smiles.  
«I’ve realized.» Her hand is back on his head again, and she’s laughing. He laughs too, and when they’ve stopped laughing she says,  
«I think he likes you too, you know.» He looks at her, questioning, wordlessly asking her to please for the love of god tell him and put him out of his misery.  
«When you were in the hospital, still unconscious, he came with his parents to visit you. And we talked for like 20 minutes or so, and when we were done he hadn’t heard a single word we’d said. He was spaced out the entire time just staring at your face and holding onto your arm. And when he finally snapped out of it, he looked at me.» She pauses, frowning at the road, as if her own heart is breaking at the memory.  
«He looked so lost, and empty. As if his entire world had shattered.» She glances from the road and over to Ryuu, to try and get her point across.  
«I think it kind of had.» The car is silent the rest of the way, Ryuu repeating her story over and over in his head, and before he knows it it’s time to get out of the car.

He knows Yuu was affected by the accident. He also knows that he means a lot to Yuu, just like he knows Yuu means a lot to him. They’re a duo, a package deal, they belong together. If they were action figures they wouldn’t even be sold separately. Which is why it’s not that weird for Yuu to have reacted so strongly. It’s perfectly reasonable, and it’s perfectly reasonable for Ryuu to be reacting to Yuu reacting. Shit, did that make any sense at all? He doesn’t know anymore. What he does know is that Yuu is probably the most important person in the world to him, sharing first place with his sister. But maybe he wants more.  
That night he lies awake in his bed and thinks that yeah, he definitely wants more. He wants Yuu in every possible way he can have him. He will admit to being a selfish and egotistical person, because he will greedily accept anything and everything Yuu will give of himself, and it would be enough. As long as it’s Yuu, it’ll be enough.

When he gets up that morning he tells himself ‘Today!’. He keeps telling himself so as he showers, styles his hair, gets dressed. As he eats breakfast and as he walks to school. ‘Today is the day!’ he thinks as he strides into the changing rooms, getting ready for morning practice.   
‘Today I’m gonna confess to Ryuu!’  
He’s been repeating this the past three days in a row. After talking to Asahi, Noya decided that the best course of action was definitely to confess. Because Ryuu will either feel the same, and then awesome! They can be boyfriends! Or he won’t feel the same, in which case, great! They can be friends! Because Noya knows that no matter what things won’t get awkward, because they don’t do awkward. Well yes they do, but not like that. Ryuu isn’t at morning practice because of physiotherapy again, his knee is slowly getting better and better, and soon he won’t have to go as often as he does now. He’d even said the doctor told him he was healing faster than expected. So he’ll see Ryuu at lunch. That’ll be perfect!  
«Hey Noya!» Ryuu shouts to catch his attention. He’s sitting on a grassy hill right by the outer wall of the school, crutches laid down next to him, lunch in his lap.  
‘This is perfect!’ Yuu thinks as he makes his way over, sitting down next to Ryuu and taking out his own lunch.  
‘Well this was a disaster.’ he thinks to himself forty minutes later as he and Ryuu head off in different directions, to get to their classes. He hadn’t been able to even broach the subject yet again. After practice, he tells himself instead.  
Which is how he had ended up standing right outside the school gate, next to Ryuu, red faced and trying to stammer out a coherent sentence, a coherent word even.  
«You alright?» «Yeah! yeah, I’m fine, totally fine. Why do you ask?» Yuu blurts out.  
«Because I’ve literally never seen you this flustered?» Ryuu says. If he wasn't leaning on his crutches his arms would be crossed, completing the one-raised-eyebrow i-totally-don’t-believe-you look. Yuu takes a deep breath, steeling himself for the next words he’s going to force out of his mouth.   
«You and your sister are like, bi, or whatever, right?» Yuu blurts out as they leave school grounds. Wow, very tactile there, he tells himself. He wants to cringe, but at least it’s an opener of some kind.  
«Uh, yeah? I guess. She’s bi. I don’t really know what I am, but I’m not straight.» Ryuu replies, sounding confused. He tries to meet Yuus eyes, but said teen is currently very tactically avoiding it.  
«Okay good. I need to tell you something.» He says, and believes he’s off to a very good start. He has Ryuus attention, and he didn’t sound like he was too serious or too silly. Just the right amount of serious. Great.  
«What’s up?» Ryuu asks, and okay maybe Yuu isn’t as prepared as he thought he was. But that’s why he’s doing this right here, right now. No backing out.  
«I might possibly maybe have developed a slightly very embarrassing crush on a guy.» Is the intelligible mess that flows out of his mouth before he has a chance to review any of it. He can tell it confuses the hell out of Ryuu, can tell it takes him a second to process. He’s about to make it sound a bit more intelligent, at least as much as he can manage, but Ryuu beats him to filling the silence that has settled over them.  
«That’s it?» Ryuu asks finally, after mulling it over all of thirty seconds. He understands that Yuu came to him for support, because he likes a guy, and he knows Ryuu won’t make fun of him for it. He needs his best friend to back him up, and generally just be a good friend. And that’s exactly what he’ll be, Ryuu decides with himself, he is going to help his bro out with his crush, even if it breaks his heart. Because that’s what bros do. and apparently bros is all they’ll ever be. But that’s okay, he’ll take it. Yuu can feel his cheeks heating up as Ryuu stares at him, instead staring onwards as they both keep walking at a leisurely pace.  
«Yeah.» He replies simply. Ryuu starts laughing. He pauses his steps, not anticipating the response. It isn’t long until Ryuu notice that he’s stopped, and he stops laughing as he turns to face him.  
«Were you worried about what I would think of you or something?» Yuus face is rapidly overheating, and he kind of wants to disappear.  
«So what if I was?»  
Ryuu moves closer to him.  
«We’re best friends dude, you don’t have to worry about shit like that.» He was pretty sure it would go over alright to begin with, nothing can ever really come in between the two of them, if there’s anything that could create a rift big enough to push them away from each other they haven’t found it yet. But this could be the breaking point, and Yuu can feel the worry gnawing away at him still. Even though Ryuu is steadily chasing it away with his general, well, everything.   
«Don’t hate me.» That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. He really needs to get a handle on checking what he’s about to say before he lets his mouth run wild. But it was what had been on the forefront of his mind for so long now. The deep-rooted worry that maybe, just maybe, this could be what would finally make Ryuu leave him behind.  
«I’m pretty sure I could never hate you dude.» He replies instead, kind as ever. Yuu smiles, just a little.  
«So who is the handsome devil who’s captured my best bros heart anyway?» And oh, yeah. He was kinda supposed to tell Ryuu he was in love with him, not just any random guy. But he’s sort of all out of juice at the moment, and he’s already half dead from blood loss due to the amount currently making his face practically glow.  
«He’s gotta be pretty awesome to catch your attention, do I know him?» Ryuu continues.  
Yuu is definitely going to die. He starts walking, knowing Ryuu will follow.  
«Yeah probably.» he answers, distractedly.  
«Is he in your class?» Ryuu continues digging.  
«No. You get one more question and then I’m changing the topic.» And Ryuu gets why, because right now Yuu looks like he could disappear in front of a Nekoma jersey.  
«Does he play volleyball?» He knows it’s kind of mean to ask that, because it either eliminates a lot of people, or just a few. But it is a telling answer none the less, and Ryuu has admitted to being selfish. He just doesn’t really know how he’s going to deal with the answer yet. Not until he’s heard it.  
«Yes. Now, literature homework. I literally don’t understand a single word of the text we’re supposed to read.» Yuu changes the topic quickly and with a sigh of relief. Ryuu on the other hand still doesn’t know how to react to the answer, but ignores it for now.   
«Which one?»

«Hello?»  
«I’m going to die.» Noya says into the phone, he’s barely inside his own bedroom, having shed all of his outerwear quickly and practically jumped the staircase to get behind the safety of the door.  
«What happened?» Ennoshita answers, used to him and Tanaka both coming to him with problems by now. Mostly with schoolwork, and sometimes not.  
«So I have a massive crush on Ryuu-» Noya starts, but doesn’t get to finish.  
«So I’ve noticed.» Ennoshita interrupts, deciding to continue making absentminded notes in his notebook instead of paying as much attention to Noya as he was trying to at the beginning.  «You too!?» Noya practically shouts into the phone. «You’re not that subtle.» «Ugh anyway, I tried telling him, and I accidentally left out the part about the crush I have on the guy on the volleyball team is actually him.» «You’re an idiot.» Ennoshita says when he brings the phone back to his ear again. «Please don’t make fun of me at my most vulnerable moment.» Noya answers with a straight face, not that Ennoshita can actually see that over the phone.  
«Just tell him you chickened out, tell him you like him, it’s obvious he likes you too.» «But what if he doesn’t. What if this all ends horribly!» Noya practically wails. «What if it doesn’t»

«I’m home!» he calls out as he fights with his crutches and shoes simultaneously. No response. Figures. As he makes his way into the kitchen he spots the note on the counter.  
‘Working late, food in the fridge.  
DO YOUR HOMEWORK!! -Love ya~ <3’  
«Haven’t got any damn homework.» He grumbles to himself as he pockets the note, walking over to the fridge to check out what she could have left for him.  
«Finished it all while everyone else was doing what I’d rather be doing» he continues to speak aloud to himself, grumbling and generally uttering his displeasure at the position he finds himself in. The fridge is semi well stocked, so he decides to grab some snacks for now and eat properly later. Yuus words are still echoing around inside his skull. The final answer like a siren, obnoxiously demanding his attention no matter how much he wants to ignore it.  
«Someone on the volleyball team.» he muses aloud, and now that he allows himself to think about it, he’s pretty sure he can feel an uncomfortable mix of anger, irritation, and heartbreak welling up in his chest. He wants to bring himself to feel betrayed but he can’t, he just can’t because eYuu is his best friend who he’s probably in love with, and said best friend is crushing on someone within their mutual friend group. He might seem like a person quick to anger, but Ryuu is honestly more bark than bite, and he is definitely powerless when it comes to his own friends. 

«They’re acting weird.» Suga tells Daichi during practice a few days later. «Who? They’re all generally weirdos, haven’t you noticed?» he responds. «No, well I mean yes, but no. Noya and Tanaka in particular. Like not the normal weird, but weird weird.» Suga attempts to clarify.  
«Weird weird?» Daichi raises an eyebrow. «Shut up, just look at them!» Suga exclaims as he gestures as covertly as he can to the two second years in question. And Daichi has to agree the both of them look just a little bit too out of place. It’s…unsettling, to say the least.  
«Go talk to Tanaka, I’ll come over as soon as I’ve wrangled the rest of the heard into doing something productive.» he says as he walks off, calling everyone else to him. Suga strides over to the bench Tanaka has made his home base for the past few weeks now.  
«How’re you doing Tanaka?» Suga asks him as he sits down next to him. They’re both watching the rest of the team getting the court ready for spike and receive practice. Daichi trying to get Noya and Hinata to calm down long enough to actually do what they’re supposed to do.  
«Oh hey, I’m alright?» Tanaka says, except he sounds sort of unsure of himself, or maybe just unsure of Sugas intentions with the question. Suga chooses to ignore it for the sake of getting to the bottom of things.  
«Have you… noticed something odd about Noya lately?» he asks, making eye contact with Daichi, beckoning him closer.  
«Oh yeah, we talked about it a couple of days ago actually.» Tanaka answers. «Really, you worked things out? How’d it go?» Suga sounds a bit like he’s doubting his words, but Tanaka doesn’t really think much of it. «Well, I wouldn’t call it working anything out. I’m telling you this because I trust you, he has a crush on someone on the team.» Tanaka confides. «You don’t say.» Suga deadpans. Tanaka, bless him, doesn't seem to notice. «Yeah, he won’t tell me who, which I honestly don’t get, but I think it might be Asahi.» he says right as Daichi is finally within the general you-are-a-part-of-this-conversation area.   
«Asahi?» Suga exclaims in pure disbelief. Daichi wants to scream. «Well, I mean, yeah? If Noya had a crush on anyone on the team wouldn’t he be the obvious choice?» he tries to reason, to no avail. «Not from where I’m standing.» Daichi mutters, making Suga smack him in the stomach. «Did you say something?» TAnaka asks as he finally tuns to him, noticing that Daichi has now apparently entered the conversation. «Huh? No, nothing. Get back to your homework, god knows you need it.» «Hey!» Tanaka interrupts him. «And get better quickly, we miss you on the court.» Daichi finishes, motioning for Suga to follow him back onto the court so that practice can finally start for real.   
«He thinks Noya has a crush on you.» Daichi says as the three of them walk home together the same day.  
«What!?» Asahi yells with what Suga will definitely call a squeak.  
«Yeah.» said teen confirms, nodding his head.  
«But I talked to Noya, he definitely likes Tanaka!» Asahi argues. «We know that! Tanaka doesn’t!» Daichi wants to punch himself in the face over their stupidity. And then punch them in the face over their stupidity. Were any of them ever so stupid as second years? Actually wait no, he doesn’t want to think about that after all. «Should we tell him?» Asahi asks the two others, who get contemplative looks on their faces as soon as the words leave his mouth. While it could go over very well to simply tell the two idiots that yes, they are both in love with the other, and yes if you told each other it would be fine, there is also the possibility of them just messing it up further. Idiots are the most unpredictable people to deal with after all. «Ennoshita said he’d told Noya that Tanaka liked him, but he’s still too nervous to do anything. And from the looks of it, he just made things worse for himself.» Suga explains. «Maybe we should just let them be? They can probably work trough this themselves.» Asahi suggests, shrugging. «Those two airheads get hurt if they think too hard about something.» Daichi says. «That’s a bit mean.» Asahi responds, meekly. «Yeah I know, but it’s honestly painful watching them dance around each other like this.» Daichi laments, covering his face with both hands like he does sometimes. Suga has warned him that it makes him look like the dad that all make him out to be. «Lets give them until Tanaka has healed, and if they don’t get their butts in gear by then, we’ll help them along.» Suga suggests, smiling in a manner he would call innocent, and the other two would call scheming. «You sound scary when you plot like that, Suga…» Daichi says as Asahis shoulders shiver.

The sound of the door slamming and a familiar voice yelling,  
«I’m hoooooooome!» is what wakes Ryuu up from the nap he had apparently decided on taking. Well, decide is a loose term, it was more like his body decided for him. He sits up on the sofa, drying away the drool he’s pretty sure is on his chin, and gives straightening out his clothes a really good try. It’s times like these he’s pretty happy with his haircut. No awkward i-just-woke-up hairstyles for this guy.  
«Hey there sleepyhead, how was school?» Saeko says as she sticks hear head in trough the doorway. Her hair is disheveled and she looks tired despite the bright smile, Ryuu has to wonder how long he’s been asleep for.  
«Same as usual, how was work?» he replies, and winces a bit at how rough his voice is.  
«Same old, same old.» she sighs before disappearing again. He can hear her moving around in the kitchen, and she reappears soon enough with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and five packets of poprocks in the other, a soda bottle under her arm.  
«Scoot over punk.» is all the warning he gets before she plonks down next to him on their sofa, which is really as close to a chair a sofa can be, yet still claim the title of sofa. Meaning it’s pretty tiny. Saeko called it cozy.   
«Got strawberry flavor?» He asks her, and she hands over one of the poprocks packets, brightly colored letters proudly proclaiming it to be strawberry flavor indeed. The movie is one of those mind numbingly inane action-comedies that they’re both quite partial too. Just enough mindless violence and stupid jokes that you don’t really have to be paying that close attention to it to get the hang of the plot. It suits them both just fine, since they’re just a little too tired to pay proper attention to it. It’s during one of those action packed moments towards the end that Ryuu decides to broach the subject he’s had brewing in the back of his head for the past few days now.   
«So if I knew two people who probably liked each other, would it be right for me to push them together if they need it? Just like, a tiny one. In the right direction.» he says. Saeko looks at him from the corner of her eye.  
«Is this about Yuu?» she says, skipping every and all pretense about it. Ryuu glances at her, meets her gaze.  
«Sort of? I mean, he likes someone, and I’m pretty sure I know who it is, but he needs a push to get the ball rolling and like, would it be right of me to help?» He’s facing her now, arms crossed across his chest and shoulders slightly hunched. It’s unusual to see him this unsure of himself, but she’s happy he still comes to her whenever something’s worrying him like this. She really does hope he continues to trust her like this.  
«If you’re careful about it then, yeah, sure I guess.» She says, not really delving deeper into it just like Ryuu is avoiding doing. She isn’t entirely sure what’s going on yet. Well, she knows this is about crushes, and Yuu, and judging from previous conversations this might be about her little brothers massive crush on said person.  
«Okay.» he says quietly, almost to himself. The credits on the screen roll and he gathers up his crutches to head to his room, still looking a bit lost in thought.  
«Okay. I’ll talk to Asahi tomorrow.» he says finally, a bit louder. And with a certain air of finality that suggests that this is where their conversation will end. He disappears into the hallway and leaves Saeko sitting there slightly confused, mostly irritated.   
«Asahi?» She questions aloud to herself, disbelieving.

True to his word the first thing Tanaka does the next morning before practice is seek out Asahi. Too bad his plans are never entirely free of fault.  
«Asahi-san!» Tanaka calls out as soon as he spots the ace outside the school gates. Asahi visibly starts before turning around, a more at ease expression settling on his face as he sees Tanaka approaching him.  
«Good morning.» he says when Tanaka is finally within reasonable conversation distance. He’s slightly out of breath and looking like he’d rather have been walking for the past three weeks, and Asahi can’t really blame him.  
«Morning! Could I talk to you on the way to practice?» Tanaka asks, already proceeding towards the gym building without even waiting for Asahis response.   
«Yeah sure.» Asahi says anyways, following after him at a leisurely pace so as not to force Tanaka to move any faster than he’s comfortable with (or capable of).  
«What did you want to talk about?» Asahi asks as calmly as he can, on the inside however, he is positively freaking out. He can’t deal with being trapped in the middle of whatever Noya and Tanaka has going on, his poor heart can’t take it.  
«Has Noya talked to you about, like, having a crush on someone?» Tanaka asks, very aware of how he’s not looking at Asahi but hoping said teen won’t notice.  
«Well, uhm… Yes?» Asahi says, justifying it by telling himself that he’s just telling Tanaka the truth, not interfering at all. No meddling going on here, no sir.  
«What, really? Did he say who?» Tanaka asks. They’re closing in on the gym building step by agonizing step, and Asahi cannot wait to get this conversation over and done with.  
«Yeah, he did actually.» he says as he spots Suga and Daichi giving him questioning looks, he shrugs in answer, and in turn they try to frantically gesture at Tanaka without drawing attention to themselves. Asahi peers at his teammate and is honestly slightly shocked at the small trace of heartbreak he sees.  
«And what did you say?» Tanaka says. They’re almost at the stairs to the changing rooms, where Asahi knows they’ll have to part ways.  
«I gave him advice on how to confess to you.» he says just a bit too quickly right as he turns up the staircase, leaving a very confused Tanaka in his wake.  
«What did you tell him?» Suga asks angrily as he enters the changing room. Asahi is standing with his back against the door, looking like he might collapse any second. Everyone on the team, excluding Noya, Hinata, and Kageyama, who are already in the gym, are currently in the changing room watching with varying levels of interest and amusement as Suga gives Asahi a stern look.  
«I just told him what Noya talked to me about.» Asahi says.  
«Which would be?» Suga prompts.  
«That he came to me about advice on confessing to him?» Asahi looks like he’s shrinking, back sliding slightly down the door.  
«Are you guys talking about Tanaka and Noya?» Ennoshita asks. Daichi only nods in confirmation, and Ennoshita sighs and continues changing. All interest lost. Narita and Kinoshita are quick to follow, and Yamaguchi and Tsukishima both look like this is old news to them as well.  
«Well, you couldn’t possibly have made it worse I guess.» Suga says with a sigh as he too continues changing. Little do they know that Tanaka is sitting on what has been dubbed ‘his bench’ watching Noya and Hinata jumping around in excitement as Kageyama watches on with his signature angry and unimpressed look. He’s turning Asahis words over and over in his head, trying to make sense of them. 

He’s definitely made his mind up. His heart has been on an emotional rollercoaster for too long and he is so ready for it to stop. Ryuu has thoroughly and irreversibly gotten his hopes up. He’s pretty damn sure Asahi said ‘you’. ‘Advice on how to confess to you’. So that might be a very good thing. Quite possibly even the very best thing he’s heard in a very very long time. So yeah he has his hopes up. They’re walking home together in an uncharacteristic silence. Glancing at each other every now and again, trying to start up the usual easy flow of conversation.  
«So, I need to tell you something.» Ryuu forces out.   
«Yeah?» Yuu replies without looking at him.  
«I know you said you had a crush on someone and I don’t know who that someone is or anything but I need to tell you that I think I’m in love with you. And I want us to be together forever, wether it’s as friends or boyfriends or partners or whatever. As long as it’s you and me.»  
Yuu is very silent for just a little too long, they’re still walking, but it’s more muscle memory than actual conscious effort at this point. Ryuu stops, and then Yuu stops. And there’s silence for all of thirty more seconds until Yuu bursts like a dam. Head and eyes flitting from side to side in nervous twitches, never settling anywhere, and just skirting over Ryuus general presence.  
«I should’ve told you from the start they were right, god damn it they’re always right, but I was really scared and then when I tried I got even more scared even though I had no reason to be scared of course you’d love me back why wouldn’t you-»  
He drops his crutches and grabs Yuus head between his hands, suddenly and probably with too much force, but he just needs Yuu to stop moving his head and look at him. Yuu freezes immediately, and Ryuus hold softens so he is simply cradling his head in his hands, feeling Yuus soft cheeks, the heat they radiate. He runs his thumbs over the skin under Yuus eyes, admiring how wide and golden they are. Yuu is finally, finally silent and looking at him.  
«Yuu.» He whispers.  
«I’ve always been yours.» Yuu whispers back.  
«Can I kiss you?» Ryuu asks, and Yuu only nods in response.  
They’re used to touching each other, in just about every way. Casual touches, meaningful touches, comforting and joking all rolled up neatly into their relationship. Easy and recognizable. But this is new. It feels intimate. It is new yet familiar all at the same time, which just makes it even stranger in a sense. But it’s so easy, because it’s the two of them. Like it should be.


End file.
